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Russell Clark
Russell Clark was an American choreographer who portrayed Belle in Fright Night Part 2. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Clark was the son of Steve Clark, part of the tap dancing team the Clark Brothers. Following in his father's footsteps, Russell trained in dance at Boston's Emerson College , then pursued advanced studies in London and Paris before pursuing his performance career. His work in film began choreographing the R-Rated softcore musical sex romp Cinderella in 1977. Clark appeared uncredited as the spinner who decided which of the maidens got to sleep with the prince during the film's "buttgammon" sequence. He followed this up assisting with choreography in 1980's roller-disco cult classic Xanadu, in which he memorably appears, clad in a spiderweb costume crawling under a line of dancers. Clark went on to choreograph and appear in many more popular films, including Blade Runner, Earth Girls Are Easy, Teen Witch, House Party 3, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, the TV bio-pic Little Richard, ''the vampire comedies ''Rockula and Vamp, ''as well as the infamously short-lived TV series ''Cop Rock. Additionally, Clark choreographed more than 100 music videos for artists such as Beck, L.L. Cool J., Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Queen Latifah, Smokey Robinson, George Clinton, David Bowie, Celine Dion and more. Clark also built a lucrative career coaching celebrities to prepare for their various roles. Amongst his clients were Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges, Denzel Washington, Ving Rhames, Alfrie Woodard and Drew Barrymore In October 2002, the American Choreography Awards honored Clark with the Governor's Award, and a few weeks later he succumbed to cancer on November 12, 2002 in Hollywood, California. Film/TV Clark was credited as choreographer for many productions and frequently appeared unbilled as an ensemble dancer. *Cinderella (1977) - Pointer *Xanadu (1980) - Dancer * Blade Runner (1982) * Body Rock (1984) - Jay *Calendar Girl Murders (1984) *Paper Dolls (1984) * Vamp (1986) * Caged Heat (1987) *Catch the Heat (1987) - Reggie *Two Moon Junction (1988) *Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) - Dancer *Fright Night Part 2 (1988) - Belle *I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka (1988) * HBO Comedy Hour: Robert Townshend & His Partners in Crime Part IV: Paying the Nutroll (1989) *Teen Witch (1989) *Cadence (1990) *Cop Rock (1990) *Rockula (1990) *Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel (1991) *Red Shoe Diaries (1992) *Jailbait (1993) *House Party 3 (1994) *Clifford (1994) *Melrose Place (1994) * Kidsongs: Let's Put on a Show (1995) *Major Payne (1995) * Smart Guy (1997) *Fallen (1998) *How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) *The Temptations (1998) - Cholly Atkins *Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (1998) *Little Richard (2000) *Holiday Heart (2000) * Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story (2001) *The New Guy (2002) *The Banger Sisters (2002) Music Videos As with film and TV, Clark often danced in the music videos that he choreographed, but sometimes his appearances were blink-and-you-missed-it. *"Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye (1982) *"Atomic Dog" by George Clinton (1983) - The Atomic Dog (lead dancer) *"Self-Control" by Laura Branigan (1984) - Dancer *"Bad Boy" by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine (1985) - Leading Cat-Man *"I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" by Grace Jones - Cameo *"The Oak Tree" by Morris Day (1986) - Dancer *"Sex as a Weapon" by Pat Benatar (1986) *"Casanova" by LeVert (1987) *"Day-In, Day-Out" by David Bowie (1987) *"Badder" ("Moonwalker" segment) by Michael Jackson (1989) *"Iko Iko" by Belle Stars (1989) *"Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" by Miki Howard (1989) - Dancer Gallery Choreographer Russell Clark in Xanadu.jpg|Xanadu Russell Clark in Xanadu.jpg|Xanadu Russell Clark - Cinderella 1977.jpg|Cinderella Russell Clark in Cinderella 1977.jpg|Cinderella Cinderella (1977) Russell Clark picks Cheryl Smith.jpg Russell Clark - Grace Jones I'm Not Perfect Music Video.jpg|Grace Jones' "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" music video Russell Clark - Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boys 01.jpg|Miami Sound Machine's Bad Boy music video Russell Clark - Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boys 02.jpg Russell Clark and Gloria Estefan - Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boys 02.jpg|with Gloria Estefan Russell Clark and Gloria Estefan - Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boys 01.jpg Russell Clark and Gloria Estefan - Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boys 03.jpg Russell Clark as Belle in Fright Night Part 2.jpg|Fright Night Part 2 BelleAttacks.png Belle.jpg RedBelle.jpg RollerSkates.jpg Russell_Clark_(Belle)_&_Brian_Thompson_(Bosworth)..jpg External Links *MSA Agency (with video reel) *Variety - Russell Clark Obituary *IMDB Filmography Category:Choreographer Category:Russell Clark Category:Deceased Actors